Not every mailing has to make an immediate profit.
Blasphemy, you say? It’s true.
Although we often feel pressured to justify our expenses, particularly those associated with marketing—RIGHT NOW—that objective isn’t always realistic—or feasible. In fact, sometimes your goal won’t be to make a big financial return in six weeks. It will be something more:
· Build brand awareness and favorability
· Create/change perceptions
· Provide valuable, time-sensitive, or legally-relevant content
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t track the success of your campaign. You may not be out to gain 200 new customers or net $5,000 in profits. You may, however, be hoping to convince 100 people to sign up for a free webinar or provide permission to send out your weekly newsletter and email letters. Those, in turn, should provide your subscribers with reasons and opportunities for sending you money, whether it’s to buy a product, order a service, support a cause, join a membership, etc.
Sometimes the goal is simply to get someone to take an action that will lead prospects and customers one step closer to the sale. “Visit XYZ webpage” or “Enter this code to get XYZ” may be the entire goal of a particular promotion that supports a larger campaign.
Not everyone—especially prospects—will make the big leap on your big offer immediately if they don’t know your company or if they view your offer as either high-priced or high-risk. Sometimes it takes a gradual easing into the water to get fully submersed in the deal.
You can do that with well-planned, cohesive promotions utilizing multiple media approaches: direct mail, email, and web.
So while one mailing may not rake in the big bucks—or any—the combination of your efforts will. You just need to understand your overall goal and how you intend to get there.